Michael Yuan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Program Affiliations

College of Science & Engineering Biology

BS Biology, Cornell University 2014
PhD Environmental Science, Policy & Management, University of California, Berkeley 2021

The lab is broadly interested in how ecological selection generates and maintains population-level genetic and phenotypic diversity. We are also interested in research related to the conservation of intraspecific diversity. We approach research questions using an integrative approach spanning morphological, ecological, and genomic techniques and leveraging museum collections in addition to field and molecular work. Evolutionary biology and ecology are deeply rooted in the tradition of natural history. We believe that an understanding of the natural history of study systems is important for building a fully formed understanding of basic questions in evolutionary and ecology. Lab website: https://www.myuanlab.com/

I am captivated by the natural world and the human enterprise of scientific discovery. As a teacher, I hope to inspire each student’s own intellectual curiosity and their appreciation of ecology and evolution regardless of their future career path and goals. Fundamentally, I aim to cultivate critical thinking skills, scientific literacy, and an appreciation for the natural world that will serve all students as educated members of the public and in their careers both inside and outside of STEM.

Yuan ML, Merjenburgh J, van Wagensveld TP, Esposito LA, Bell RC, Myers EA (2025) Competitor decline coincides with recent demographic expansion and island-wide panmixia in Anolis pogus. Journal of Heredity. DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esaf039
Stroud JT, Giery ST, Heathcote RJP, Tiatragul S, Yuan ML, Feeley KJ, Losos JB (2024) Observing character displacement from process to pattern in a novel vertebrate community. Nature Communications 15:9862. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54302-1
Yuan ML, Jung C, Frederick JH, Fenton C, de Queiroz K, Cassius J, Williams R, Wang IJ, Bell RC (2023) Parallel and non-parallel phenotypic responses to environmental variation across Lesser Antillean anoles. Evolution 77:1031–1042. DOI: 10.1093/evolut/qpad018
Wogan GOU, Yuan ML, Mahler DL, Wang IJ (2020) Genome-wide epigenetic isolation by environment in a widespread Anolis lizard. Molecular Ecology 29:40–55. DOI: 10.1111/mec.15301
Yuan ML, Wake MH, Wang IJ (2019) Phenotypic integration between claw and toepad traits promotes microhabitat specialization in the Anolis adaptive radiation. Evolution 73:231-244. DOI: 10.1111/evo.13673
Yuan ML, Dean SH, Longo AV, Rothermel BB, Tuberville TD, Zamudio KR (2015) Kinship, inbreeding, and fine-spatial structure influence ut communities of a hindgut-fermenting tortoise. Molecular Ecology 24:2521–2536. DOI: 10.1111/mec.13169

Yuan ML, Merjenburgh J, van Wagensveld TP, Esposito LA, Bell RC, Myers EA. 2024. Landscape genomics and ecology of a threatened island endemic, Anolis pogus, on St. Martin. Evolution Meeting, Montreal, Quebec
Yuan ML. 2023. Competition as the major driver of an adaptive Radiation. Invited Seminar, Department of Biology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Yuan ML, Wake MH, Wang IJ. Comparative claw morphology across Anolis lizards. Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology Meeting, San Francisco, California

Last Updated: November 03, 2025